Steam-generator.



PATENTED DEC. 27,1904.

3., 0. W001), STEAM GENERATOR.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 20, 1904.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

WITNESSES:

ATTO R N EY PATENTED DEG. 2'7, 1904.

J. G. WOOD.

STEAM GENERATOR.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 20, 1904.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

WlTNESSES:

ATTORN EY UNITED STATES Patented December 27, 1904.

JOSEPH G. XVOOD, OF NEWV YORK, N. Y.

STEAM-GENERATOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 778,767, dated December27, 1904.

Application filed January 20. 1904- Serial No. 189,819.

1'0 (1.. Iv/mm, it may concern:

Be it known that I, JosErH C. lVoon, a citizen of the United States,residing at New York, (Brooklyn,) in the county of Kings and State ofNew York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inSteam-Generators; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full,clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enableothers skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use thesame.

My invention relates to water-tube steamgenerators.

The object of the invention is, first, to insure the utilization of theheat from the tirechamber of the generator to the greatest possibleextent for the rapid and continuous production of steam in the generatorby arranging the water-tubes so that they will intercept and break upthe body of heated air arising from the tire-chamber, and therebyprevent the hot air from escaping in unbroken currents without firststriking the water-tubes and parting more or less completely with itsheat; second, to effect the thorough absorption of the heat by the watercirculating through the tubes by causing the heated air to impingedirectly upon the entire surface of the water-tubes at or about rightangles to their length; third, to prevent the burning out of the spacingand supporting devices between the units of which the generator iscomposed; fourth, to construct the generator so that the steam will beconveyed from the tubes most distant from the tireback to thefire-chamber for superheating; fifth, to regulate the draft of theheating apparatus by the expansion and contraction of the water-supplypipe and thetubingconnecte'd therewith that forms part of one of theunits of which the generator is composed.

1n the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 represents a sectional sideelevation of my improved steam-generator; Fig. 2, a horizontal plan ofone of the units of which the boiler is composed, showing also themethod of coiling the tubing to form the unit. Fig. 3 represents atransverse section of the unit shown by Fig. 2, taken through the centerthereof.

Referring to the drawings, A designates the shell of the generator,which is formed by an inner steel casing 1, an outer heavier steelcasing 2, and between these a filling 3 of asbestos.

B is the top of the generator, which is fastenedto the shell by boltingthe same to a flange on the outer casing 2. This top has a draft-openingat the center. The exterior casing 2 is also provided with verticalopenings 44: on opposite sides, closed by suitable doors 4: f, hinged orfastened by turn-buttons to the outer casing. These doors give access tothe couplings between the ends of the tubes of adjoining units and thefeed Water pipe, these couplings being located in the space between thetwo walls of the shell to protect them from the heat. The outer casingis extended downward to inclose the fire-chamber D and the ash-pit E.The walls of the lire-chamber are formed of tire-brick F, and in thewalls there is a vertical air space or flue 5, that extends from theash-pit to the top of the tire-chamber and around the fire-chamber. Thisair-space is provided to convey air supplied by a blower (not shown) toa nozzle Gr, that enters the ash-pit at any convenient and suitablepoint. The tire-chamber and ash-pit are also provided with feed and airdoors H I and grate-bars K.

It will be understood from the foregoing that the fire-chamber of thisgenerator is designed for the use of coal as a fuel; but this is notnecessary to the operation of the generator, and liquid or gaseous fuelsmay be used by changing the fire-chamber to adapt it to the use of thesefuels and providing suitable mechanism for supplying the same.

The generator may consist of one unit or a number of units coupledtogether and forming a continuous water-tube boiler. Each unit iscomposed of a spiral or helical coil 6 and a fluted coil 7, (see Figs. 2and preferably made from tubing that is, a section of a single tube. Thegenerator is made up of any number of these units placed one above theother with the fluted coil of one unit joined or coupled to the spiralcoil of the next unit above it. The ends of the tubing of each unit arecarried out through the inner walls of the generator radially in planesparallel to the planes of the coils, and the end of the spiral coil iscoupled to the end of the fluted coil next above it between the innerand outer walls of the shell of the generator, and the series of unitsform a continuous water-tube system. The coils composing a unit areformed in the followingmanner: Tubing ofthe proper length to form thespiral and fluted coils and the coupling ends of both coils has thefirst or center coil 8 formed in it at such distance from the end a thatthe latter will project out of and above the proposed spiral coil. Thisfirst coil is made large enough to leave an opening 9 in the center. Thetubing is then coiled spirally around the first coil and continuoustherewith until the required diameter is reached, thus completing thespiral coil 6. At a point about diametrically opposite the end a. thetubing is bent downward, as at 7), to bring it into a plane below thespiral coil, and from this point it is formed into the fluted coil '7 bycarrying it around once and forming the flutes 0 under the spiral coil.When this fluted coil is completed, the end (Z of the coil is at theside of the spiral coil at or near bend b, and from this point thetubing is bent out abruptly, so that its end (Z will project outside thespiral coil from the side opposite the end a. The fluted coil isdesigned to be in contact with the under side of the spiral coil, andthe flutes c c, &c., are of such length that they lie between theopening 9 and the exterior line of the spiral coil. By forming the twocoils in the manner described from tubing each unit is formed into acontinuous water-tube without joints. The units thus formed are puttogether in the following manner: They are arranged so that theconnections between alternate units are made on opposite sides of thegenerator. Thus the unit 1 has the end (Z of the fluted coil joined tothe water-feed pipe M at 10 between, the walls of the shell A, while theend 11/ of the spiral coil is carried through the inner wall of theshell on the opposite side into the asbestos-filled space and therejoined or connectcd to the end of the fluted coil of unit 11. The end (Zof the fluted coil of unit II is carried through the inner wall on theopposite side and there connected with the end a of the spiral coil ofthe unit III. The remainder of the units IV to XI, inclusive, areconnected in the same manner. By this arrangement the water entering thelower fluted coil is compelled to traverse the entire length of the coilfrom right to left, or vice versa, andfrom the outside toward thecenter. Then it passes up into the spiral coil and circulates throughthe same from the center outward and then passes again to the flutedcoil of the next unit. In each unit, therefore, the water traverses thewidth of the generator twice, during which it is exposed to the heatascending from below. The coils, it will be observed,

are all at right angles to the direction of the heatcurrents-that is,the heat ascends vertically, while the coils are horizontal. Hence thewater flows through them in horizontal planes at right angles to theascending heatcurrents and is thus exposed to the direct action of theheat. Both sets of coils in all of the elements cross the ascendingheat-currents, which are thus intercepted by each coil and deflectedsidewise against adjoining coils. This construction also gives a veryextensive surface to the generator, every part of which is exposed tothe heat. The fluted coils, besides adding their length to theevaporating-surface, serve also as supports for the spiral coils. Asthey underlie each spiral coil radially and in turn have their endssupported, as hereinafter described, the spiral coil of each unit issupported at a number of points, and when heated the coils are notliable to sag. These supporting-grids are important in this constructionof the generator, and by'making them of water-tubes instead of solidmetal they are protected against destruction by the heat and increasematerially the heating-surface of the generator. -The end a of thespiral coil of the unit farthest from the fire is carried outhorizontally to the space between the coils and the inner wall of thegenerator, thence down to the fire-chamher in the top or crown portion,where it connects with a superheating-coil N, that encircles the dome offire-chamber, and finally emerges from the fire-chamber at 11, where itconnects with the steam-pipe. By this arrangementthe steam issuperheated before it reaches the engine. The U bend or coupling 12 inthe water-feed pipe outside the walls of the fire-chamber is connectedby a rock-lever 13 with the feed-door H. The object of this constructionis to control automatically the admission of air over the top of thefire, and this is accomplished by the opening and closing of the door bythe expansion and contraction of the feed-water pipe actuating therock-lever. In this manner a perfect regulation of the heat is secured.

0 represents standards placed within the inner casings of the shell onopposite sides, so that the connected ends a d of adjoining units arepassed around the standards and rest upon cross-bars 14:, attached tothe standards. By this means the units are connected with and supportedin the shell of the generator.

The water supply or feed pipe may connect outside of the shell directlywith the end (Z of the fluted coil of the first unit, and in that casethe rocking lever 13 would be connected with the coupling between thesaid water-supply pipe and the end of the fluted coil. Furthermore, theend of the topmost spiral coil may be carried directly through the shelland connected with the steam-pipe leading to the engine, if desired,instead of being connected with a superheating coil N. If but one unitis used in the generator, the end of the helical coil in that unit willconnect with the steam-pipe and the end of the fluted coil with thewater supply or feed pipe.

The generator may include any number of the units, the number dependingupon the horse-power the generator is required to have.

The construction of the shell of the generator herein described whiledeemed to be the best for the purpose is not essential to theoperativeness of the water-tube system, and it may be changed withoutaffecting the principle of the invention.

I claim- 1. In steam-generators a unitary coil consisting of a spiralcoil and a fluted coil made from tubing and arranged in parallel planesthe ends of the spiral and fluted coils being extended radially outwardbeyond the spiral coil, substantially as specified.

2. In steam-generators a unitary coil consisting of a spiral coil and afluted coil made from tubing and arranged in parallel planes the ends ofthe spiral and fluted coils being extended radially outward from therespective coils at opposite sides of the spiral coil. substantially asspecified.

3. In steam-generators the combination of a suitable casing and a seriesof unitary coils each unit consisting of a spiral coil and a fluted coilformed from tubing the two coils arranged in parallel planes the ends ofthe spiral coil and fluted coil of each unit being extended radiallyoutward parallel to the planes of the spiral and fluted coils andconnected respettively with the ends of the fluted and spiral coils ofadjoining units, substantially as speci' 4. In steam-generators thecombination of a suitable casing and a series of water-tube units eachunit consisting of a spiral coil and a fluted coil formed from tubingthe two coils arranged in parallel planes the ends of the spiral coilsand fluted coils being extended radially outward from the coils atopposite sides thereof and through the walls of the casing and the endsof the spiral coils coupled to the ends of the fluted coils of adjoiningunits to form the generator, substantially as specified.

5. In steam-generators the combination of a casing and a series ofwater-tube units each unit consisting of a spiral coil and a fluted coilformed from tubing the two coils arranged in parallel planes with thefluted coils underneath the spiral coils the ends of the spiral coilsand fluted coils being extended radially outward through the walls ofthe casing and the end of the spiral coil of each unit coupled to theend of the fluted coil of the adjoining unit, substantially asspecified.

6. In steam-generators the combination of a casing and standardsprovided with crosspieces inside the walls of the casing and a series ofwater-tube units each consisting of a spiral coil and a fluted coilformed from tubing the two coils arranged in parallel planes with thefluted coils underneath and supporting the spiral coils, the ends of thespiral coils and fluted coils being extended radially outward atopposite sides of the standards over the crosspieces and through theinner walls of the casing, and the end of the spiral coil of each unitcoupled to the end of the fluted coil of the adjoining unit below,between the inner and outer walls of the casing, substantially asspecified.

7. In steam-generators a water-tube unit made from tubing which at agreater or less distance from one end is formed into a center coil so asto leave an opening therein thence coiled spirally until the properdiameter is reached thence at a point opposite the end of the spiralcoil is bent down below the plane of the spiral coil and formed into afluted coil under the spiral coil, the ends of the spiral and flutedcoils being extended outward radially and terminating on opposite sidesof the coils, substantially as specified.

8. In steam-generators the combination with a shell consisting of innerand outer walls and an intermediate non-heat-conducting filling,of aseries of connected water-tube units each unit comprising a spiral coiland a fluted coil the fluted coils and spiral coils of adjoining unitsconnected together by a suitable coupling between the inner and outerwalls of the shell of the generator, substantially as specified.

9. In steam-generators the combination with a shell consisting of'innerand outer walls and an intermediate non-heat-conducting filling of aseries of connected water-tube units each of which comprises a spiralcoil and afluted coil the end of the spiral coil of the topmost unitbeing carried outward from the center to the wall of the casing andconnected mediately or immediately with the steam-pipe leading to theboiler, substantially as specified.

10. In steamgenerators the combination with a shell consisting of innerand outer walls and an intermediate non-heat-conducting filling of aseries of connected water-tube units each of which comprises a spiralcoil and a fluted coil the end of the spiral coil of the topmost unitfarthest from the fire being carried outward from the center to theinner wall of the casing thence downward between the water-tube unitsand the walls of the casing to the fire-chamber and connected with asuperheating-coil in the crown otlthe fire-chamber the end of which isconnected with the steampipe leading to the boiler, substantially asspecified.

In testimony that I claim the invention above set forthI have aflixed mysignature in presence of two witnesses.

JOSEPH C. IVOOD.

WVitnesses:

WILTON (J. DONN, ARTHUR Lowe.

